Paleo Bacon Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce

Tags

bacon, beef, dinner, low carb, meatloaf, paleo, recipes

 

When I first started my Paleo journey, I was always afraid BR and I weren’t eating enough. Not in the sense that we had to eat like birds but I wanted to make sure that the meals were satisfying and healthy.

One of the greatest “tricks” to succeeding during my initial 30 days was adding good quality bacon to our diet. For so long, I always saw bacon as “bad” and “unhealthy”. So when I started shopping for our first week, holding the pound of freshly butchered bacon made me so excited. It started to feel like anything but a diet.

GIVE ME BACON!

And that love for bacon is the reason why when I was making a beautiful grass fed beef meatloaf that I added bacon to it without the slightest feeling of guilt. And for BR, he dug in and said “this is a diet?!?! SIGN ME UP!” It was definitely satisfying, especially with the addition of some great veggie sides. Even if you arent following a low carb diet, this is a really satisfying dinner.

Ingredients:

2 lb 85% lean grass fed ground beef

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup almond flour, or flour of choice

1 egg

1 tsp granulated onion powder

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

6-8 slices bacon

For the sauce:

8 oz mushrooms, i chose cremini, sliced

1 Tbsp butter

1 tbsp arrowroot flour, Or flour of choice

1/4 cup beef stock

 

Preheat the oven to 350*. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef with onions, salt, flour, egg, garlic and onion powder. Combine until all ingredients are well incorporated. Place in a non stick baking pan and form into a loaf shape. Top with bacon.

Place in the oven and bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes.

While the meatloaf was baking, I prepared the mushroom gravy. Heat the butter in a large skillet over a medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the sliced mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are softened, about 5-7 minutes. When the mushrooms are cooked, sprinkle in the arrowroot flour and stir until its well combined. It will thicken up, add beef stock in 1 Tbsp at a time until desired consistency is reached. Allow the mushrooms to bubble while stirring constantly. When it reaches a bubble, lower the heat to allow it to simmer while the meatloaf cooks. When the meatloaf is complete, slice and serve with mushroom sauce over it. I served this alongside some sauteed cabbage, roasted red beets and a tomato and cucumber salad.

The mushrooms sauce was great, however, it congeals quite a bit once it cools. Not to be alarmed though, the sauce gets better when its heated.

 

Turkey Meatloaf

Tags

dinner, meatloaf, onion, recipes, turkey

My boyfriend is half Polish. As the days go by, we get to know each other more and more. One thing that I learned was when he said his diet consisted of meat and potatoes, he wasn’t exaggerating. My diet, in my opinion, is pretty balanced. I like everything. I eat everything. I eat it often. But when my boyfriend thinks dinner, he thinks literally MEAT and a POTATO.

One of his more recent dinners was a favorite of his. Meatloaf and french fries. With that on my mind I tried to remember the last time I made meatloaf. It had been quite a while ago. And when I threw the family pack of ground turkey into my cart, Turkey Meatloaf was on the menu.

Personally, I am not a fan of your standard meatloaf. Mostly because it has ketchup in it. I don’t know what ketchup did to me personally but it offends me in such a way that I turn my nose up at most meatloaves… except my mother’s.

Mom’s Turkey Meatloaf (serves 6-8 ppl)

2 lbs lean ground turkey

1 medium onion, diced

1 packet onion soup mix

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup parmesan Cheese

salt (I eye ball it)

Preheat the oven to 375*. In a big bowl with clean hands, fold the ingredients in until it is all well combined.

In a baking dish prepared with cooking spray, or a non stick baking dish (I used a 9x 13), form the ground turkey into a loaf. I sprayed the loaf with more cooking spray and put it in the oven uncovered for 70 minutes.

It is done when a meat thermometer reads between 140* and 150*. Take it out and allow it to rest. If you are thinking “ITS NOT DONE YET!”, Have no worries as it is still cooking as the meatloaf is cooling down. This will ensure the meatloaf is cooked but still moist. Dry meatloaf is a SIN.

The boyfriend heard there was meatloaf in the oven and came right over. I was sure to prepare some mashed potatoes to go along with the meatloaf as well as some steamed broccoli.

It was the boys first time having a turkey meatloaf and he really didn’t seem to notice the difference….it helped that I added some brown gravy to it.

Such a hearty and delicious meal… but definitely balance it out with some greens!